Hi,
Right, situation is I am going to buy a car in the next month or so. I want something to impress my mates with and have a limit of upto group 10 insurance as a named driver.
What is the best car upto around 10k? A few examples I thought of were as follows:
Ford Puma 1.4/1.7
BMW 316i Sport Compact (1998/9)
New MINI One/Cooper possibly
New Ford Fiesta 1.4 A/C Zetec 3dr
VW Lupo GTI 1.6/1.4 Sport
Audi A3 1.6 Sport
Renault Megane coupe or Clio?
Basically I wouldnt mind something a bit exclusive and that does 0-60mph in around 10 seconds or less
Any ideas? Coupes, Convertibles, etc.. considered (preferably small-medium)
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Glad you didn't mention the Opel Corsa. I rented one in UK last month for 5 days. I was suspicious of it from the word go, it looked rickety, very much like a kid's toy and the panels appeared to be made of recycled cigarette carton foil. Things started falling off it the minute I got in (wheel trims, odd nameless bits of plastic inside, the trunk lock jammed) and the entire "car" appeared to be constructed of what we used to say the Japanese ones were made of when I was in the auto busines in the 1960's -- monkey metal. Not only that, a decent pushbike could have seen it away from the lights.
When I complained to my sister she said just think yourself lucky they didn't give you a Peugeot (see you didn't mention that either :-)
Do people really BUY junk like this?
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Believe it or not they do! The most popular selling small car in the UK is the Peugeot 206. The reason is it looks good and has a decent chassis...but the rest of it is complete crud.
Someone who works for my dad brought a fairly basic 1.4 206 on a 2000 plate and in the past 6 weeks since purchasing it the car has been at the dealer most of the time.
The faults have been:
rackety interior
rear brakes completely locked up while travelling on the road
problems with the suspension
squeaky power steering
bear in mind this is ALL in 6 weeks of ownership!
This is what has put me off the 206 and it has an awful driving position. Also, my sister crashed her german-built Fiesta into a 106 in an accident and im not kidding, the 106 was half its original length - the hit was 25mph!
Corsa's i dont like - they are too high and the seats in them are uncomfortable- also gutless small engines (exclusing sri)
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that should have been excluding sri
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Carmad,
thought you'd sorted this, down to the detail of the options pack.
What's changed?
Lee.
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I have no knowledge about some of the cars you are looking at but maybe its best to go your own insurance as in a few years your premiums will be much lower. Also the insurance may question how much you drive the car if u crash it. As the policy holder in my memory is supposed to be the main driver. anyway on with the cars
2001 Y Reg Renault Clio 1.6 Dynamique (sporty model ie alloys)2,795 miles £7,985.
Have a look on autotrader.co.uk they usualy have loads of cars for sale.
I cannot recoment the Megan though a friend had one as a courtisy car which was 02 reg 1.6 I belive and he hated ever second he had it. It had a terriable sounding engine which had to little power (he said my 1.4 escort and 1.5dci clio had more power)
My best recomendation for something to impress your friends is
an old sporty big heavy car eg carlton gsi 3000
or a new car with an 03 plate ie corsa sxi, clio, saxo etc [£9000]
or a almost new car eg 1 yr old 1.8sri corsa [£9000], 2000 172 clio [£8000](check the insurance though first)
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Well, I have just taken a job selling Kitchens for Hygena P/T while studying and they require me to go out and do appointments with potential clients all over oxfordshire. I have been pottering around for the past 2 appointments on my trusty 50cc scooter and its not upto the task by a LONG way. For this reason, I need to get a car ASAP.
I suppose I could wait for a mini and use my sisters fiesta in the mean time, however I am trying to think of some good used alternatives which maybe just as good which are instantly available.
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You probably dont want to hear this, but for a first car you're best off with something dirt cheap to buy, run and insure (if thats still possible for anyone under the age of 50), and save the cash for a nicer car when you're build up some no-claims. Now where did I leave my pipe and slippers?
Although I wouldnt wish my particular one on my worst enemy, a 2nd hand Vauxhall Cavalier TD ought to fit the bill. It wont impress your mates with speed, style or anything else quite frankly, but you will be able to put 4 of them in it without the aid of a shoehorn, it will do a decent miles per gallon, the 1700 Isuzu lump is a pretty good motor, it wont really go fast enough to get you into trouble but most come with ABS as standard which comes in really handy if you do.
And if you really want, you can take the badges off, slap on some GSi alloys and a spoiler, and nobody will know until you turn the key.
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Hi,
Although technically you are right to go for a sensible first car and build some NCB up i have a slightly different situation. My dad runs a bmw M3 and wants a small run around for appointments etc.. which I will share with him. Therefore I will be a named driver on his insurance giving a better selection of vehicles.
The cost of my own insurance i crazy even on something like a fiat panda. Therefore being a named driver is a better alternative and wont be illegal as its a genuine case. I can get insured on a 1.4 Puma for £900 as a named driver with an excess of £300. or the 1.6 for £1100. My own insurance on a 1.25 fiesta is £2400!
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Are you ever going to get a shock !!
When you get the quote for the shared car, make sure you tell them about your business use as well as that of your Father´s.
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(Business use)
I was pleasantly surprised to find my insurer included this gratis. Course I'm not 17 and have NCD and history, but still - free!
Did I ever mention I had a bad time with Hastings direct? I once recommended them and since had a nightmare, so I'm re-withdrawing the recommendation....
Lee.
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A condition on my group 17 A4 is no one under age 35 to drive, so assuming you are younger than this i find it strange that you can drive a M3 under your dads insurance?
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Im not looking to drive the M3...read above....a small/medium car upto group 10 insurance (as the title may suggest)....M3 is a group 20.
Also, the business aspect of the insurance is fine- they are including this in their quotes.
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As you want to impress your mates why not ask them?
God I must be getting old....
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I´ve answered this a thousand times, and I really can´t be bothered to go into it again.
However, SD&P including to & from is usually extended to the policy holder and sometimes spouse as part of the policy premium. It is rarely extended to any other, in particular a young driver. However, if it is, you will find it is to & from one permaqnent, as a salesman this will not work. You will require full business use which if applied to more than the policyhodlerand occasionally the spouse, is normally regarded as at least class 2 use and with a salesman, potentially class 3.
And even if you get that, I would be very suprised if the insurer didn´t rate it on the young driver, especially with another car available, whatever the broker thought.
However, if you get it, good luck to you. But do be sure.
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Anyone else getting a slight case of deja vu? I thought Carmad had decided on a Mini - or was it a Fiesta?
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Mark (wherever)
>I´ve answered this a thousand times, and I really can´t be bothered to go into it again.
er... did I prompt this?
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did I prompt this?
No, I don´t think so.
Although I did sound a bit more dismissive than I intended. I should have said that a while ago I wrote a whole scree about business use and its better to search that out than have me type it again.
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Yea i know youve probably answered some of my previous links...let me fill you in...
put a deposit down on a nearly new Fiesta zetec from a well known car supermarket...then a close relative died suddenly of cancer the next day, cars sort of went out the window and the dealer was very unhelpful over the car situation so i pulled out.
Was then going to order a new Mini but was offered a promotion within work and I accepted the job. Job involves a bit of driving so a car is now needed more desperately than it was originally with the Mini idea.
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>No, I don´t think so.
Phew! Didn't want to start the new year on the wrong foot!
Cheers,
Lee
:-)
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MG ZR 1.8 120bhp is group 10.
Seat Leon 100hp 1.6 16v is group 6!! TDI 110 is group 7!
(why are these half the insurance group of my Mk2 Golf GTI?, not fair I yell)
130bhp SEAT Ibiza TDI sport (seriously fast) is group 7
VW Bora TDI (115) are group 8 (less than equiv Golf and cheaper)
My vote goes to SEAT Ibiza TDI.
I do not condone insurance fraud.
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i dont condone insurance fraud either. I aint defrauding anyone.
My dad will use the car more than me as he is an estate agent and has various appointments. I go to college during the week and wont drive it in mon-fri as parking is a fortune. therefore he will be using the car 65%-70% of the time
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Ok, good.
So how about these SEATs then?
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The seats sound REALLY interesting actually for their prices - i am gonna look into the Ibiza range. I got a quote for a 2.0 (8 valve) cupra sport and it was like £1300 as a named driver - however, the performance was 0-60mph in about 10.8 seconds which isnt exactly 'gti performance'. But im sure there are other models worth seeing.
The arosa 1.4 sport is a good little car too actually - I/G 5 with 0-60mph og 10 seconds and 100bhp
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